NCJ Number
149506
Journal
JEB-P Dated: (Fall 1992) Pages: 24-28
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper attempts to frame problems and solutions related to the youth gang problem in Toronto in a way that will allow the development of a comprehensive prevention/intervention strategy using a pro-youth approach.
Abstract
Framed as a racial issue, youth gang and group activity is difficult to define precisely; in Toronto, there is little conflict between racially homogenous youth gangs and most gangs tend to be racially mixed in any case. However, confronting society's systemic and structural ethnocentricism and racism is a first necessary step to take in reducing the negative impact of youth gangs. Solutions for a race-based view of gang/group activity would have to occur on both macro- and micro-social levels. Youth violence can also be seen as a result of youth alienation and disempowerment, which result from inequities in the distribution of social power. Empowering youth would mean letting them participate in community and government decision making processes to some degree and providing youth employment opportunities. The author contends that framing youth violence as a law enforcement issue is a deceptively simplistic approach and offers no preventative value. Nonetheless, Toronto policy makers have exclusively adopted a criminal justice approach to youth gangs. This article provides some "first principles" for developing a pro-youth strategy to deal with juvenile gangs and violence.